Cutting through the spin on supermassive black holes
Astronomers have measured the spin of a black hole buried in the heart of a galaxy located 56 million light years away, and discovered it was spinning quickly – about as quickly as it could go. That...
View ArticleLong predicted atomic collapse state observed in graphene: Researchers...
The first experimental observation of a quantum mechanical phenomenon that was predicted nearly 70 years ago holds important implications for the future of graphene-based electronic devices. Working...
View ArticleAccelerating particles accelerates science, with big benefits for society
Tackling the most challenging problems in accelerator science attracts the world's best and brightest to Brookhaven Lab. It's only natural that ideas and techniques born here take root in new research...
View ArticleSimulations uncover obstacle to harnessing laser-driven fusion
(Phys.org) —A once-promising approach for using next-generation, ultra-intense lasers to help deliver commercially viable fusion energy has been brought into serious question by new experimental...
View ArticleNew method of finding planets scores its first discovery
(Phys.org) —Detecting alien worlds presents a significant challenge since they are small, faint, and close to their stars. The two most prolific techniques for finding exoplanets are radial velocity...
View ArticleCatching graphene butterflies
Writing in Nature, a large international team led Dr Roman Gorbachev from The University of Manchester shows that, when graphene placed on top of insulating boron nitride, or 'white graphene', the...
View ArticleNASA's BARREL mission launches 20 balloons
(Phys.org) —In Antarctica in January, 2013 – the summer at the South Pole – scientists released 20 balloons, each eight stories tall, into the air to help answer an enduring space weather question:...
View ArticleEinstein's exoplanet
(Phys.org) —Eight hundred and eighty nine exoplanets (planets around stars other than our Sun) have been discovered to date. Most of them were found using the Kepler satellite, which spots small dips...
View ArticleCorrelation phenomena observed by CMS may shed light on exotic state of matter
Observing a phenomenon for the first time helps us fine-tune our understanding of the Universe. CMS physicists found such a phenomenon in September 2012 in proton-lead collisions, an observation that...
View ArticleHow did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere?
(Phys.org) —Since the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts in in the Earth's upper atmosphere in 1958, space scientists have believed that these belts consisted of two doughnut-shaped rings of...
View ArticlePredicted experimental test will clarify how light interacts with matter at...
Collisions of atomic and subatomic particles at very high energies reveal important properties about the beginning of the Universe and the atomic forces, and how fundamental particles are formed and...
View ArticleNovel topological crystalline insulator shows mass appeal
Disrupting the symmetrical structure of a solid-state topological crystalline insulator creates mass in previously mass-less electrons and imparts an unexpected level of control in this nascent class...
View ArticleScientists explain the formation of unusual ring of radiation in space
Since the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts in 1958, space scientists have believed these belts encircling the Earth consist of two doughnut-shaped rings of highly charged particles—an inner...
View ArticleBig chill sets in as RHIC physics heats up
If you think it's been cold outside this winter, that's nothing compared to the deep freeze setting in at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), the early-universe-recreating "atom smasher" at the...
View ArticleHow to test the twin paradox without using a spaceship
Forget about anti-ageing creams and hair treatments. If you want to stay young, get a fast spaceship. That is what Einstein's Theory of Relativity predicted a century ago, and it is commonly known as...
View ArticleSpiral-shaped 'light fan' adds new twist to laser-driven plasma accelerators
(Phys.org) —For the past few decades, physicists have been studying the phenomenon of "twisted light," which is light that is twisted like a corkscrew along its axis of travel. Due to the twisting, the...
View ArticleHigh-energy particle collisions reveal the unexpected
The nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and neutrons, which are themselves made up of elementary particles called quarks and gluons. Observing these elementary particles is difficult and...
View ArticleBest of Last Week – Evidence of quark-gluon interactions, new portable device...
(Phys.org) —With summer drawing to a close, research is starting to heat up. Last week, physicists at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider used supercomputer calculations to offer evidence that...
View ArticleThermonuclear X-ray bursts on neutron stars set speed record
A new study of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on neutron stars reveals that, on very rare occasions, shells can be expelled at relativistic speeds - up to 30% of the speed of light. These velocities are...
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